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Qusta ibn Luqa al-Ba'albakki, i. e. from Baalbek or Heliopolis, Lebanon, a Melkite Christian of Greek origin, was born in 860 and flourished in Baghdad. He was a philosopher, physician, mathematician and astronomer. He died in Armenia in A.D. 912.

Translations of Diophantos, Theodosius of Bithynia's Sphaerica, Autolycus, Hypsicles, Aristarchus, Theophrastus’ Meteora, Galen’s catalogue of his books, Hero of Alexandria's (Heron's) Mechanics, and John Philoponus were made or revised by him, or made under his direction. He wrote commentaries on Euclid and a treatise on the Armillary sphere. He was a prominent figure in the Graeco-Arabic translation movement that reached its peak in the 9th century. At the request of wealthy and influential commissioners, Qusta translated Greek works on astronomy, mathematics, mechanics and natural science into Arabic. He also produced works of his own: more than sixty treatises are attributed to him. He wrote mainly on medical subjects, but also on mathematics and astronomy. Only a small part of his production has so far been edited. The extant editions of Qusta’s medical works show that he was thoroughly acquainted with Hippocratic-Galenic humoral medicine– the theoretical system that constituted the basis of formal medicine in Islam.

His original works, many listed in the Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim, dealt with contemporary science, medicine, astronomy and philosophy. A Latin translation of his work ‘On the Difference between the Spirit and the Soul’ (De Differentia Spiritus et Animae) was one of the few works not attributed to Aristotle that was included in a list of ‘books to be 'read,' or lectured on, by the Masters of the Faculty of Arts, at Paris in 1254, as part of their study of Natural Philosophy.[2] This translation was made by Joannes Hispalensis, (John of Seville, fl. 1140). He wrote a treatise on Nabidh. His Medical Regime for the Pilgrims to Mecca: The Risālā Fī Tadbīr Safar Al-ḥa is available in translation.[3]

He was also involved, with his fellow-Christian Hunayn ibn Ishaq, in an epistolary exchange with the Muslim astronomer, Abu Isa Yahya ibn al-Munajjim, who had invited them to embrace Islam. Both refused, and provided their reasons for rejecting al-Munajjim's Islamic faith. [5]

Kitāb fī al‐ʿamal bi‐ʾl–kura al‐nujūmiyya (On the use of the celestial globe; with some variations as to title), which contains 65 chapters and was widely disseminated through at least two Arabic recensions as well as Latin, Hebrew, Spanish, and Italian translations